I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bi-fold door assemblies and, in particular, to hardware fabricated from plastic materials for the mounting of bi-fold doors and including a new plastic bi-fold door.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Bi-fold doors are well known and commonly used and, generally, comprise two wooden doors, one of which is a lead door that is hinged along its lengthwise edge of a jamb door which, in turn, has hinges for mounting the jamb door to the jamb of the doorway on which it is desired to use the bi-fold door. Generally, such bi-fold doors are fabricated from wood and are not provided with any means for guiding the forward end of the lead door such that the door may be opened and closed in a simple and easy manner without the lead door abutting the header of the door and causing damage to the wooden molding along the door header as is common in the use of such bi-fold doors.
In order to overcome this problem, it has been suggested in the past that the bi-fold door assembly be provided with a header track wherein the upper surface of the lead door is provided with an element that pivotably engages the header track such that the door is guided as it is opened and closed. Furthermore, spring elements have been employed to exert a tension on this pivot assembly such that when the door is closed it will remain in the closed position. Additionally, such prior art structures have included means for pivotably mounting the upper and lower surfaces of the jamb door, adjacent the jamb, to the header track and to the floor as opposed to using hinges along the lengthwise edges of the jamb door adjacent the jamb. This arrangement has proven fairly successful and, in particular, has provided means for adjusting the vertical height of the door as well as its position with respect to the door jamb. Although these bi-fold door assemblies have functioned in an acceptable manner, they are expensive to fabricate and are difficult to utilize, especially during the initial installation of the bi-fold door as well as during the removal of the doors in the event the same must be repaired or replaced.